NY State Senate Bill 2025-S6737

Senate Bill S6737

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to the date of school district annual organizational meetings; and repeals certain provisions of the education law relating thereto

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 21, 2025	referred to education

2025-S6737 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4683
Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§1707, 2504 & 2502, rpld §1707 sub 2, §1904, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: A6829

2025-S6737 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the date of school district annual organizational meetings; allows boards of education to meet on any date on or before the Monday after July 20th for their annual organizational meeting.

2025-S6737 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6737

SPONSOR: FAHY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to the date of school
district annual organizational meetings; and to repeal certain
provisions of such law relating thereto

 
PURPOSE:

To allow boards of education to meet on any date on or before the Monday
after July 20th for their annual organizational meeting.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends subdivision 1 of section 1707 of the education law to
provide that union free school districts may choose any date on or
before the Monday after July 20th for their annual organizational meet-
ing.

Section 2 repeals subdivision 2 of section 1707 of the education law.

Section 3 repeals section. 1904 of the education law.

Section 4 amends subdivision 1 of section 2504 of the education law to
provide that city school districts may choose any date on or before the
Monday after July 20th for their annual organizational meeting.

Section 5 repeals subdivision 2 of section 2504 of the education law.

Section 6 amends paragraph o of subdivision 9 of section 2502 of the
education law to reflect the updated timeline in subdivision 1 of
section 2504.

Section 7 sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

School districts hold annual organizational meetings, in which they
choose their president and vice-president, and often appoint officers
such as internal auditors, school attorneys, records access officers,
and records management officers, as well as designate depositories for
district funds. Given the importance of these decisions, it is important
for school board members to be present at these meetings.  Since the
mid-twentieth century, school boards have been required to hold their
organizational meetings on specific dates and times through- out the
month of July, with variations between district types and a specific
date only for central school districts in Nassau County, In 1997,
certain boards were allowed to meet under certain conditions within a
restricted timespan, and in 2019 the same limited ability was extended
to school boards of city school districts. This inflexibility as to the
date of the organizational meeting unnecessarily restricts the autonomy
of school boards, while providing no benefit to students, districts, or
the public at large.  On the contrary, if boards were afforded more
flexibility as to the date of their organizational meetings, more board
members would be able to attend them, which is crucial given the impor-
tance of the meeting to school boards' operations for the rest of the
year.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

A.6829 - 2023/2024 (McDonald), referred to education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To Be Determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S6737 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6737
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 21, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  FAHY  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to  the  date  of  school
   district   annual  organizational  meetings;  and  to  repeal  certain
   provisions of such law relating thereto

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  1  of  section 1707 of the education law, as
 amended by section 6 of part A of chapter 436 of the laws  of  1997,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   [1.]  The  annual  organizational meeting of the board of education of
 every union free school district shall be held [on the first Tuesday] in
 July ON OR BEFORE THE MONDAY AFTER THE TWENTIETH DAY  IN  JULY  of  each
 year[, unless said day shall be a legal holiday, in which event it shall
 fall on the first Wednesday in July].
   § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 1707 of the education law is REPEALED.
   § 3. Section 1904 of the education law is REPEALED.
   § 4. Section 2504 of the education law, as added by chapter 762 of the
 laws of 1950, and subdivision 2 as added and subdivision 3 as renumbered
 by chapter 526 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   § 2504. Meetings  of  board of education. 1. The annual meeting of the
 board of education shall be held [during the first week] in  JULY ON  OR
 BEFORE  THE  MONDAY  AFTER THE TWENTIETH DAY IN July, at four o'clock in
 the afternoon or such other hour as the board may  determine,  at  which
 meeting the board shall select a president for the ensuing year. At such
 meeting  the board may also select a vice-president who shall be author-
 ized to act for the president in case  of  the  president's  absence  or
 inability to act during such year.
   2. [The board of education may, however, by resolution, determine that
 the  annual meeting be held at any time during the first fifteen days in
 the month of July, at a time to be decided by the board.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05796-01-5

 S. 6737                             2

   3.] Such board shall also fix the day and  hour  for  holding  regular
 board  meetings  which shall be at least as often as once each month and
 shall also prescribe a method  for  calling  special  meetings  of  such
 board.
   §  5.  Paragraph o of subdivision 9-a of section 2502 of the education
 law, as amended by chapter 526 of the laws of 2019, is amended  to  read
 as follows:
   o.  The  members so elected to the board of education shall convene on
 the [first business day in July of each year, unless another] date  [is]
 chosen  pursuant  to  section twenty-five hundred four of this [chapter]
 ARTICLE, at the time of the commencement of their  term  of  office  and
 select  from their members a president who shall serve for a term of one
 year.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.

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